Colorado Small Estate Limit: $88,000 Threshold and Affidavit Steps

The Colorado small estate limit for 2026 is $88,000. If a deceased person’s personal property, minus any debts secured against it, totals $88,000 or less and no probate case has been opened, a successor can collect that property by presenting a notarized affidavit directly to the bank, employer, or other holder, with no court filing required.¹

The threshold changes each year with inflation, so always check the figure for the actual year of death. A death in late December 2025 uses the 2025 ceiling of $86,000, not the 2026 number. The Colorado Judicial Branch publishes a table of thresholds by year of death on the affidavit form itself.¹

What Counts Toward the $88,000

Only property that would otherwise pass through probate gets measured against the limit. The statute values that property at fair market value and subtracts any liens or encumbrances against it.² A car worth $25,000 with $18,000 still owed on the loan counts as $7,000.

Several common assets don’t count at all, because they bypass probate on their own:

Payable-on-death bank or brokerage accounts, which transfer directly to the named beneficiary.
Life insurance proceeds, which go to the designated beneficiary unless the estate itself is named.
IRAs, 401(k)s, and other retirement accounts with beneficiary designations.
Jointly held property with survivorship rights, which passes to the surviving co-owner automatically.

Treating one of these as part of the estate can push the total over the limit for no reason. Leaving out an asset that does belong in the count produces an inaccurate affidavit, which creates its own problems later.

Conditions Beyond the Dollar Amount

Staying under $88,000 is the first test, not the only one. The affidavit route also requires:²

At least ten days must have passed since the date of death.
No one has filed a petition to appoint a personal representative, and no court has granted one, in any jurisdiction.
The property is personal property only. Bank and brokerage accounts, safe deposit box contents, vehicles, and tangible belongings qualify. Real estate does not, no matter its value.

Real property held in the deceased person’s name alone is the single most common reason an expected affidavit case ends up in probate court instead. Even a modest house forces a different process.

Who Can File

Only a “successor” can sign the affidavit. Colorado’s probate code defines a successor as any person, other than a creditor, who is entitled to the deceased person’s property under a will or under state inheritance law.³ In most families that means a surviving spouse, an adult child, a parent, or a sibling. If there is a will, the beneficiaries it names are the successors. If there isn’t, Colorado’s intestacy statutes decide who inherits, and those heirs become the successors.

Someone who isn’t a successor can still handle the paperwork on a successor’s behalf. The Colorado Judicial Branch guide treats that person as the successors’ agent, with responsibility for getting the property to the right people.⁴

How to Complete and Use the Affidavit

The form is JDF 999, “Collection of Personal Property by Affidavit,” available on the Colorado Judicial Branch website.¹ It asks for a description of each asset you plan to collect, including account numbers or vehicle identification numbers. If every successor will share every asset in the same proportions, you can list “All Assets” instead of itemizing.⁴

You estimate the fair market value of each item to confirm the estate stays under the threshold. You affirm that ten days have passed, that no probate case is pending, and that you are entitled to the property or acting for someone who is. Then you sign it in front of a notary.⁴

The affidavit is not filed with any court. You take it directly to whoever holds the property: a bank, a brokerage firm, an employer who owes a final paycheck.⁴ The transaction stays private. Under C.R.S. § 15-12-1201, the holder is required to pay or deliver the property to the successor on receipt of a properly executed affidavit.² The holder is treated as if it dealt with a court-appointed personal representative and has no duty to verify what the affidavit says.⁵

When a Bank Refuses

Some institutions push back, often because their legal departments haven’t seen a small estate affidavit before. If a holder refuses, you can bring a court action to compel delivery. If the court finds the refusal lacked reasonable cause, the holder becomes liable for your costs, including attorney fees, and bears the burden of proving its refusal was justified.⁵ Pointing the institution to that statute usually resolves the standoff without a lawsuit.

Transferring a Vehicle

Vehicles need an extra step. Bring the small estate affidavit and a death certificate to your county motor vehicle office. The office identifies the new owner from those documents, and the new owner signs the title.⁶ If the deceased completed form DR 2009 (Transfer of Title Upon Death Designated Beneficiary Form) before death, that form replaces the affidavit for the vehicle. It can’t be created after the fact.

What You Owe After You Collect

Taking possession makes you personally answerable to any personal representative later appointed by a court and to anyone with a superior claim to the property.⁵ If probate is later opened, the appointed representative can demand the property or its value from you.

Outstanding debts of the deceased, including funeral costs, medical bills, and credit card balances, must be paid from the estate’s funds before anything goes to heirs. After debts, the remaining property goes to the successors under the will, or under Colorado’s intestacy rules if there was no will. Keeping funds for yourself, ignoring known creditors, or distributing to the wrong people can expose you to lawsuits from beneficiaries or creditors who were shortchanged.¹

A final federal income tax return is also usually required. If the deceased earned enough income during the year of death to trigger a filing requirement, someone has to file a return covering January 1 through the date of death, by the same deadline that would have applied in life. A surviving spouse can file jointly. Otherwise the person in charge of the deceased’s property, typically the successor who filed the affidavit, is responsible. If you’re claiming a refund and aren’t a court-appointed representative, attach IRS Form 1310.⁷ Colorado does not impose its own estate or inheritance tax.

When the Estate Is Over the Limit

If probate property exceeds $88,000, or the estate includes real estate titled in the deceased’s name alone, the affidavit won’t work. The next step for uncontested estates is usually informal probate, which appoints a personal representative with limited court involvement and can transfer real property. Summary administration is a streamlined track available when the estate’s value doesn’t exceed the combined allowable exemptions and costs. Formal probate is reserved for disputed wills, unclear beneficiaries, or disagreements among heirs, and involves more hearings and higher costs.

1
Colorado Judicial Branch. Collection of Personal Property by Affidavit
2
Justia. Colorado Code 15-12-1201 – Collection of Personal Property by Affidavit
3
Colorado Judicial Branch. Probate Glossary
4
Colorado Judicial Branch. Guide to Collecting a Decedent’s Personal Property
5
Justia. Colorado Code 15-12-1202 – Effect of Affidavit
6
Department of Revenue – Motor Vehicle. What to Do When a Loved One Dies
7
Internal Revenue Service. Filing a Final Federal Tax Return for Someone Who Has Died